I have a pair of Yamaha HS80M powered monitors which I use to deliver the sound from my DP.

They have a set of 4 switches on the back which allow me to modify the sound that ultimately gets delivered out into the air.

I have a rudimentary understanding of what these switches do but have always wished for a more complete understanding of the effect each might have on the sound.

I would appreciate clear explanations of what these switches accomplish. Thank You


Here are the switches ...

LOW CUT (Flat, 80hz, 100hz)

HIGH TRIM (+2dB, 0, -2dB)

ROOM CONTROL (0, -2dB, -4dB)

MID EQ (+2dB, 0, -2dB)


One of the questions that keeps popping into my head is whether these switches affect all keys on the keyboard or just the HIGH, LOW, or MID keys, respectively.

Also, which switch has the most impact on the sound.

So, anyway ... if someone could give a lesson in how to use these I would appreciate it.

I can take a shot.

Room control attenuates the bass region. Because low notes come out in all directions instead of just straight, a speaker put in the middle of the room has extra power added so the bass to the loudness of low notes that comes to the listener is the same as the higher notes, which only go forward. If you put a speaker near a wall, all the power radiating in different directions can get reflected forward, which can make it really boomy and bass-heavy. Turning up room control turns down the power on these low notes for cases where speakers are up against a wall.

Low cut is used when you have a subwoofer in use. I assume it's a high-pass filter. The strange thing is that usually you run the sound into the subwoofer first, which splits the sound into the low stuff it will play and the high stuff it will pass on. I guess this setting is used when the setup is not that way. (?)

The mid eq attenuates the midrange. Lots of people like speakers to have more bass and treble for listening (this is the way many hi fi speakers and many headphones are, but monitors supposedly are not). Turning this dial may make the speakers sound more pleasing but it will be less accurate (i.e., you wouldn't want to do it while mixing).

Similarly the high trim attenuates the highs, for people who feel like the sound is too bright/harsh.

I've tweaked EQ settings many times on a number of monitor setups and unfortunately have not been able to noticeably improve the overall sound. Back in the day I was trying to reverse engineer an EQ curve in Kontakt's EQ that would make my speakers sound awesome, like my headphones. I got things that seemed like an improvement in that sitting, but when I came back later and compared it to the flat setting, I always ended up going back to flat. Perhaps you will have better luck than I have.

TL;DR version: Room control tweaks the bass, mid eq tweaks the mids, high trim tweaks the highs. Low cut is used when you are using a sub.

Very good reply above by gvfarns already.
Just wanted to add in regard to your question if the switches affect all notes: Yes, indeed they do.
If for example you trim the highs, not only will your high key notes be affected, but your middle and bass keys as well.
That is because the notes you hear don't only contain the fundamental frequencies but in fact many overtones. Therefore even a bass note reaches out into middle and high frequencies which will then be affected by mid and high equalizing. And while a bass note will not lose its power from a high trim, the attack and resonance in the overtones will get more mellow.

Just try it out, play around with the switches and listen to the effects it will have on the sound.

Ok ... Thanks, guys.

Now, let's see if I understand ...


My starting position is ... (0,0,0,flat)

I wish to "soften" my sound and make it less harsh.

I set my HIGH TRIM to -2dB.

I also wish to reduce amount of "boom" in the bass notes.

I set the ROOM CONTROL to -4dB)

Make sense ?